(Topic ID: 328314)

Working on a BK2K, first timer

By Areseebee

1 year ago


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  • 17 posts
  • 7 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 1 year ago by Areseebee
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#1 1 year ago

Hi everyone, I have a BK2K machine that I want to make "better". There's tons of issues that I'd like to handle one at a time and I'd love some help from the knowledgeable people here.

The first issue is that the upper flipper is not strong enough. It can't currently shoot the ball up the drawbridge. The flipper itself is rather loose, there's a lot of play in it. If I hold the flipper button down and push on the flipper it will "slip" an inch or so. I've attached a picture below where I circled the wobbly part in blue (please note the EOS switch is open in that picture. I've now bent it to be closed and the problem persists. Here's a short video of the play in the flipper. Maybe this is normal, I'm not sure.

https://imgur.com/a/P8SavKx

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#2 1 year ago

So first off my guess is your plunger is blown out. Check out this pic...
https://www.pinballlife.com/williamsbally-plunger-and-link-old-style.html
What happens is the plastic piece either cracks completely, or the whole gets blown out creating the slop you're showing in the video.

So a new plunger might fix that part; but a lot of people like to get a flipper rebuild kit. Sometimes it's overkill for a little problem...then they'll also tell you to replace all Mechs are the same time then you're buying 3 of those bad boys.

#3 1 year ago

Thanks, I had watched this video (

) and suspected the plastic piece but didn't see any damage to it. I think the flipper is weak because when it strikes the ball it slips all the way back that inch and takes a lot of the pop off of it. Do you think I just need that metal piece or to replace the plastic housing as well?

#4 1 year ago

I can see the slop in your video; the meeting of the plastic plunger & pawl should not have that much play in it.

Edit:Look at 4:25 of that video vs 4 seconds of your first video. Look at your pawl moving around freely and your plunger not moving at all!

#5 1 year ago

So is my best bet just to buy the metal plunger part you linked fist and try replacing it? Should the plunger be tight in the coil (it's not)? Can I just rebuild this one flipper if I so choose? Is that my best bet?

I've played with it a bunch today. I noticed it was very tight to the playfield (like perpendicular motion) so I loosened it as some places said that can make them weak. I also tried sanding the contacts on the EOS switch. All of these things I've read can be issues but I really haven't seen much change.

#6 1 year ago

Furthermore, maybe I did this all backwards. The game came to me telling me to check switch 17, 18 and 19. As such the slings don't work and possibly the right bumper. This thread here (https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/weak-flipper-on-bk2k) says something about weak flipper being related to fuses and it will manifest in other ways: "check out this post, this guy had the same issue as me....as you can see the flippers work but weakly. Btw, it was not just the flippers that were weak but also the slings, the kick out and other stuff. Check fuse F7."

Maybe this is what I should be looking at first.

#7 1 year ago

Looks like two different 'slops' going on there in the video - the hole (or both holes) in the plastic plunger link is blown out, and the nylon flipper bushing (that the flipper shaft runs thru) is probably badly cracked/broken/worn out causing the wobbling of the end of the flipper shaft.

#8 1 year ago
Quoted from frenchmarky:

Looks like two different 'slops' going on there in the video - the hole (or both holes) in the plastic plunger link is blown out, and the nylon flipper bushing (that the flipper shaft runs thru) is probably badly cracked/broken/worn out causing the wobbling of the end of the flipper shaft.

Agree with all of this. Way too much slop in the link and likely broken bushing (under pawl). Also, the first video shows the EOS switch contacts aren't nearly aligned properly. High power EOS contacts carry all the power for the flippers and need to be perfectly aligned. Rather than trying to adjust that switch properly, I would highly recommend buying a complete rebuild kit for at least the lower flippers. Plungers and links, pawls, coil stops, bushings, EOS switches and return springs. Pinball Life sells rebuild kits.

#9 1 year ago

Just a quick tip, don't upgrade the upper flipper on BK2K to the WPC style as described in Vids guide. When you launch the ball it will hit the tab that holds the flipper return spring (as I found out the hard way the other day).

#10 1 year ago
Quoted from phishrace:

Agree with all of this. Way too much slop in the link and likely broken bushing (under pawl). Also, the first video shows the EOS switch contacts aren't nearly aligned properly. High power EOS contacts carry all the power for the flippers and need to be perfectly aligned. Rather than trying to adjust that switch properly, I would highly recommend buying a complete rebuild kit for at least the lower flippers. Plungers and links, pawls, coil stops, bushings, EOS switches and return springs. Pinball Life sells rebuild kits.

Although I have no doubt that the lower flippers could use a rebuild too, they are currently strong enough and doing ok. Should I still do them? Being new I'd love to change as little as possible just to reduce the number of things that could go wrong.

Also that EOS contact is my fault. Could that be the problem? I wasn't sure exactly how to bend them back in a way that would make sense, I probably bent the middle too much. Is there a way to test if the contact is good? I tried sanding them and measured resistance across it, I'm getting 0.1 ohm but it does fluctuate a good deal (I think mostly because my hands are unsteady).

#11 1 year ago
Quoted from Areseebee:

... they are currently strong enough and doing ok. Should I still do them?

No. Some people just like to shotgun whole mechs out; not really needed IMO.

#12 1 year ago
Quoted from Areseebee:

Although I have no doubt that the lower flippers could use a rebuild too, they are currently strong enough and doing ok. Should I still do them? Being new I'd love to change as little as possible just to reduce the number of things that could go wrong.
Also that EOS contact is my fault. Could that be the problem? I wasn't sure exactly how to bend them back in a way that would make sense, I probably bent the middle too much. Is there a way to test if the contact is good? I tried sanding them and measured resistance across it, I'm getting 0.1 ohm but it does fluctuate a good deal (I think mostly because my hands are unsteady).

If it was me, I'd do the following.

1. Open up pin and raise the playfield to a it's full position.
2. Take a photo of the bottom right flipper, one that you think is working perfectly.
3. Very carefully compare the photos, taking close note of what is different between the two, especially around the leaf switches. Do they look the same? Adjust the top one bending it with a pair of pliers to make it look as close to the bottom as possible.
4. Take a crisp $1 bill, press it between the contacts on that flipper assembly and pull through to clean it.
5. You mentioned the flipper was slipping when you activate it while holding the flipper down. This should not happen. Take a wrench and tighten the nut on the left while either using a pair of pliers to hold the black screw on the right (you have it circled in blue in your photo) or (preferablly) use an allen wrench to tighten the screw on the right. These two combined will "hold" the shaft holding the flipper tighter and keep it from slipping when hit.
6. Before testing it, check by pushing the flipper manually to make sure it turns freely without scraping the playfield. If it does, the flipper needs to be raised a credit cards thickness above the playfield. Failing to do this can result in playfiled art rubbing off.
7. If these items combined do not fix your issue I'd recommend a system 11 flipper rebuild kit. If you buy a pair I'd recommend using them on the right flippers as they are the only ones that hit ramps.

Good luck!

#13 1 year ago

Alight thanks everyone. So I'm going to get one of these: https://www.pinballlife.com/full-flipper-assembly-for-williamsbally-machines-from-031987-to-111991.html .

On to the next issue. The slings do not work. When I hit advance on startup it says to check switch 17, check switch 18 and check switch 19. I see from the instructions that these are in the same column and I should check for a short between row wires. I'm not entirely sure what to do with that.

Last issue (for now). The sky loop just doesn't register ever. I don't see any warning message in the startup diagnostic. Where do I start with this?

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#15 1 year ago

Ok so basically I probably don't need the coil? is it just the coil and bushing that is missing in that kit you sent? Also that it's not pre-built.

#16 1 year ago

It’s missing the plate that holds the assembly to playfield. Most likely not worn out but if you buy the complete assembly you have taken a lot of the work out of rebuilding the flippers. I guess it’s a question of time vs money. Save the old parts you may need some for the lower flippers as well. However if your going to own pins learning how to rebuild flippers is a fundamental skill if you don’t want to call a tech to your home every few months. Vids guide is highly recommended reading. Good luck bk2k is an awesome game miss mine it’s a game where I learned how to nudge effectively. When they work like they should it’s one of the best system 11 games.
Regards
Al

#17 1 year ago

Alright, so I'm going to order the whole flipper mech. I ordered some soldering supplies. Is there anything else I should order? Shipping seems to be $15 no matter what which is pretty harsh so I would like to have my bases covered particularly with regards to the other issues.

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